Seated god with a lion. To judge by his youthful and idealized appearance, the panther skin draped over the rocky seat, and the lion, the seated figure is probably Dionysos. The statue was originally meant to be seen in the round and was probably a decorative piece for a Roman garden or villa. Sometime later, holes were cut through the neck of the lion and the back of Dionysos to create a fountain sculpture. The head of Dionysos, the muzzle of the lion, and fragments of the toes and fingers are restorations probably added in the 15th to early 17th centuries in Italy.
Romano, Irene B. Classical Sculpture; Catalogue of the Cypriot, Greek and Roman Stone Sculpture in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2006. See: p. 241, no. 117
White, Donald J., Ann B. Brownlee, Irene B. Romano, and Jean M. Turfa. Guide to the Etruscan and Roman Worlds at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2002. See: p. 88, no. 129
